Monitoring large and complex environments is a challenging task for security operators because situations evolve quickly, information is distributed across multiple screens and systems, uncertainty is rampant, decisions can have high risk and far reaching consequences, and responses must be quick and coordinated when problems occur. The increased market present of single-touch and multi-touch interaction devices such as the iPhone, GPS navigators, HP TouchSmart laptop, Microsoft Surface and Blackberry mobile devices offer a significant opportunity to investigate new gesture-based interaction techniques that can improve operator performance during complex monitoring and response tasks.
However, the solutions that are typically incorporated to address the myriad of needs in complex security environments often consist of adding a multitude of features and functions in order to facilitate monitoring the environment using multiple assets. Unfortunately, one consequence of adding additional features in order to facilitate monitoring multiple assets is that operators must remember the features available, including when and how to access them.